Our first baby bird of the season — a Canada gosling — is also our patient of the week!
Found earlier this month on the grounds of the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, CA, the gosling was then delivered to our friends at Lindsay Wildlife and, 10 days later, transferred to our San Francisco Bay center.
The gosling is growing quickly: it weighed 98g at rescue, and its weight is now 354g and climbing!
This week we received two more orphaned goslings and all the birds are sharing quarters in a duckling box at our center.
A Canada Goose typically lays a clutch of five to seven white eggs, although clutches can range from as few as two to as many as 12. Newly hatched goslings look a lot like ducklings with their yellowish gray feathers and dark bill. By nine to ten weeks, however, they have turned gray and grown their flight feathers.
We treat hundreds of goslings and ducklings each year at both our California centers. This year is starting off with a beauty!
Are these birds imprinted on people, or can they eventually be released in the wild? If they can’t, where do they wind up? Thanks!
With proper care including keeping handling to a minimum, these goslings will be released back to the wild.